Investors and developers to gather in Cape Town to discuss financing options for power projects across Africa

As Africa’s demand for power generation continues to outstrip supply, the question of how to finance the future of Africa’s power sector looms large. Prospective investors must fully understand the latest developments in Africa’s finance sector in order to launch successful projects and build long term relationships with local government.

Karen Breytenbach, Head: IPP Office

Private equity investments into Africa were up by 136% in 2013 (with a huge chunk of that going to power and infrastructure projects). Pension funds and sovereign wealth funds are also increasingly looking into long term power projects to fund, with lenders working hard to develop debt financing models to keep up with Africa's power market.

The 8th Annual Powering Africa: Finance Options Meeting will return to Cape Town from 30-31st October. This pan-African executive briefing will welcome CEOs and senior-level directors to get to the heart of the issues and opportunities surrounding the financing of power projects in Africa, allowing for a limited number of participants to engage with key decision-makers through a series of open, uninhibited discussions taking place under Chatham House Rule.

The programme will focus on a series of open discussions chaired by regional experts focusing on key trends including the development of IPP programmes, financial frameworks and regulatory environments.

Confirmed speakers will include Karen Breytenbach, Head: IPP Office, National Treasury, South Africa, Moremi Marwa, Chief Executive Officer, Dar Es Salaam Stock Exchange, Peter Ballinger, Director, U.S.-Africa Clean Energy Development and Finance Centre, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Waziri Bintube, Chief Financial Officer, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, who will present regional perspectives and case studies to open the floor for discussion.

Other confirmed speakers include:

•          Kamran Khan, Vice President of Compact Operations, Millennium Challenge Corporation

•          Professor Anton Eberhard, Management of Infrastructure Reform & Regulation, Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town

•          Brigette Baillie, Partner, Webber Wentzel

•          Martin Kavanagh, Partner, Energy and Infrastructure Finance, Herbert Smith Freehills

•          Sakkie Leimecke, Head: Energy, Nedbank Capital

•          Keith Martin, Initiavie for Risk Mitigation in Africa, African Development Bank

•          Alastair Campbell, Managing Director, Vantage GreenX

•          Tshepo Mahloele, Chief Executive Officer, Harith General Partners*

•          Zubair Suliman, Senior Investment Manager, DEG- Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH

•          Eric Olo, Head Corporate Finance and Business Strategy, North South Power